Improvement in harvesters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. IMPROVEMENT lN HARVESTERS.

Hpecileal ion ['orniilrg;V part nl Letters Iatcnt No. 22.681,(la1'ed January lf, liill.

To all 707mm fit may concern:

13e it known that weVM. N. VI-HTELEY and ANDREW XYHITELEY, ot'Springlield, county ot' Clarke, in thcStatcot'Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Cutting Apparatus of I'Iarvesters; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the aceomlninying t'lrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

(Jur invention relates to the device for clearing the cutting apparatus of all matter which might check or impede the progress ofthe cutters; and it consists, tjrst, in a peculiar forni ot'opening in the fingers. through which the cutters vibrate, in connection with a particular adaptation ot' clearingproiection on the cutters, as will he presently described; and our invention consists, secondly, in forming the clearing-projection out of the cutter by bending up an extended portion of the metal, as hereinafter more fully explained.

To enable those skilled to niake and use our invention, we will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a top view of a portion of the cutting apparatus of a harvester with our iinproveinent. Fig. 2 represents a top view ot' a modification ot' apparatus seen at Fig.1. Fig. 3 represents an end view ot' apparatus illustrated at Fig. 2, and Figs. lland 5 detail views of cutter.

A is the linger-bar, to which are secured the fingers U. 13 is the cutter-bar; 1), the cutters. rlhe opening or slot in the finger U, through which the cutters D and their bar B vibrate, is so formed that the under surface et' the cutters shall slide on the top surface of the lower portion of said finger, (see Fig. 3,) while the lower surface ot' the upper portion ot' the finger, or the upper boundary of the slot, shall diverge from a point slightly above the front edge ofthe cutter to a point farther above the heel. ofthe cutter. This peculiarity in the coilstruction ofthe finger will be bestcomprehended by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, where it will be seen that the opening in the finger above the cutter increases in capacity from O toward 02, from which latter point the heel i of the cap of the finger comes down onto the back side of the cutter and keeps the cutter down onto the shearingsurface ot' the linger at s The object ot' making the opening` in the tinger of greater capacity in the rear, as iust described, is to allow the stubhlcor matter which may get in between the linger and cutter to pass freely back into the rear corner or angle of said opening, from whence it may be readily and etfectually extrica ted by a proiection, (Lon the upper surface and near the back of the cutter. This projection consists of a triangular lip having its edges squared oit sharp and its apex extending up, so as to pass into thc rear corner of the opening in the finger, as illus trated at Fig. 3; or said cleariiig-projection may be formed ot a strip, such as seen at t', Fig. 1, a vertical section ot' which would presont a contour similar to that nt' the lipd, having its end serrated, as illustrated atf, the es. sent'ial feature in the construction of the clearing-projection being a formation suoli as to enable it to pass up into the rear corner or angle ofthe opening` in the finger and eti'ectually cut out all obstruction.

The clearer c may be placed over the joint when the cutters are made in sections, and the same rivets which secure it made to secure also the cutters on the bar.

The clearing projet-tion or lip d is fornied ol` a portion of the cutter which is iirst niade in form somewhat as seen at Fig. 4, and afterward has the portion d bent up, as seen at Fig. 5, and ground ott'on its upper edge. Another projection, c, may he formed on the rear edge ofthe cutter, in a similar manner, i'or clearing out the fiber or other matter which may get in between the under side ol" the cutter and the finger or guard.

At d', Fig. l, is represented another method of forming the clearer out ot' the cutter by punching through the cutter two sides of a triangle and bending up the metal ou the third. This method ot'forming the clearer is not, however, as novel as that already described, nor practically as good, and does not form part of our present invention. l

It will be understood from the description above given, in connection with the drawings, that the ber or grass which doubles in between the upper side ot' the cutter and the finger is allowed, or even induced, by the wedgeshaped opening already described, to pass di rectly back toward the rear corner of said opening or slot, and that by means of a clearing-projection so constructed as to have a sharp corner or apex vibrating directly through and close into said rear corner any obstacle will be ei'ectually cleared out or cut away.

It is obvious that the proportion and shape ofthe opening above the cutter may be varied without departing from the spirit of' our invention so long as a forni is retained in which the capacity 0f said opening increases from front to rear of the finger. It is also obvious that the clearing-projections are subject; to many modications without losing their essential feature of novelty, which consists in forming them with a. sharp corner or angle passing directly through the rear corner ofthe opening in the finger.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A finger so constructed that the slot or opening above the cutters shall increase in capacity from front to rear, in combination with the clearing-projection described, passing directly into the rear corner of' said opening, in thc manner described, for the purposei speci fied.

2. Forming the clearing-proiections ofa bent extension of the cutter substantially as hereinbefore described.

WILLIAM N. WHITELEY. ANDREW VVHITELEY.

Vitnesses as to signature of William N. Whiteley:

REUBEN MILLER, AMos WHrrnLnY.

Vitnesses as to signature of Andrew Whiteley:

J. N. MCINTIRE, HENRY W. TURPIN. 

